Manufacturer: Gainward
Price: $250 MSRP



Our last look at a video card was our first look into PCI Express with Albatron's PCX5750 Trinity. This card had a lot of overclocking potential and proved as an ample performer for the price. Therefore, we concluded that the PCX5750 was a great choice for those entering the new Intel LGA 775 platform that were on a budget or saving their dollars for the next generation of video cards. Today we have one of Gainward's PCI Express video card in for testing that offers buyers more performance at a higher price.

Gainward is a nVidia tier-1 partner who only manufacters products built with nVidia GPUs. Gainward currently has three product series that they distinguised by use of cooling technologies. They are:

* PowerPack! Series: Uses fan or heatsink for cooling.
* CoolFX PowerPack! Series: Uses advanced water cooling system.
* SilentFX PowerPack! Series: Uses heatpipe for cooling to eliminate fan noise.

The Gainward FX PowerPack! Ultra1800PCX "Golden Sample" is the focus of this review. Based on the GeForce FX 5900 XT GPU and a 256-bit memory bus, the Ultra1800PCX should perform well in today's games. Let's start.